Covert operation leads to arrest of alleged Irish cartel boss on organized crime charges following years-long manhunt

(SeaPRwire) –   An international fugitive was apprehended in Dubai this week after a manhunt that spanned several years.

Daniel Kinahan, the suspected head of one of Ireland’s largest criminal organizations, the Kinahan cartel, was taken into custody on Wednesday on organized crime charges during a secretive operation conducted by Irish and UAE authorities.

The 48-year-old alleged gang leader is anticipated to be charged in Ireland for his connection to a violent gangland conflict between the Kinahan cartel and the Hutch gang, which has resulted in 18 deaths since 2015.

Dubai police did not disclose Kinahan’s identity, stating only that they had “apprehended an Irish fugitive for his suspected involvement in an organised criminal group responsible for international crimes in his home country.”

His identity was revealed by Irish media on Friday.

Ireland’s national police service, the Garda Síochána, confirmed that an Irish man in his forties was arrested based on a warrant issued by Irish courts.

“An Garda Síochána has remained unwavering in our commitment to pursue individuals allegedly engaged in serious Organized Criminal activity, regardless of their location,” the police stated, as reported by The Irish Star. “Today’s arrest serves as another critical example of the necessity for international law enforcement collaboration in combating transnational organized crime.”

Kinahan escaped from Ireland to Spain, and later to the UAE, after he was thought to be the intended target of an assassination attempt that killed a Kinahan cartel associate, David Byrne, during a boxing weigh-in at Dublin’s Regency Hotel.

In 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a $5 million reward for information that could lead to the arrest of the Kinahan cartel’s leaders or the “financial destruction” of the organization.

The cartel is regarded as a major force in the European drug trade and, in collaboration with other European crime syndicates, has formed a “super cartel” that dominates approximately one-third of the cocaine market in Europe.

Kinahan also has ties to the boxing industry and established the boxing management firm MTK Global.

Reuters and